Country Music Star Opens Up About Getting Clean

Singer and songwriter Tayla Lynn shared a candid post about her struggle with addiction and her road to sobriety. (Photo: Tayla Lynn/Facebook)

Singer and songwriter Tayla Lynn has bravely shared a personal triumph, while bringing awareness to a national epidemic.

The granddaughter of country music legend Loretta Lynn posted on her social media accounts that she is celebrating four years of sobriety — for the second time. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” wrote the wife and mother, pictured with her son, Tru. “After 8 years of sobriety, I relapsed for 6 months after taking Vicodin (pain killer) for a C-section with this angel.”

While the former Stealing Angels singer admits that she lost “everything” during this six-month period, she has since “got back so much more than I ever had.”

And her fans on Instagram couldn’t be more supportive of the Tennessee native:

“Thank you for openly sharing about your addiction!” wrote Instagram follower @nannyrichardson. “For so long so many people have hidden it when they could have been helping and saving someone else’s life! Our youngest son is at Hope Center….on the 10th will be 4 months! Only God got him there! God’s timing is always perfect!!!”

Added @dmcatron01: “Hour-by-hour, day-by-day with the support of our loved ones we get through. Thank you for being the inspiration that you are.”

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, prescription drug abuse is on the rise: Of the 20.5 million Americans 12 or older who had a substance use disorder in 2015, 2 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers known as opioids — a class of drugs that interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain and nervous system to produce pleasurable effects and relieve pain.

So how should a patient in addiction recovery be treated in medical situations that require painkillers?

“An individual who has struggled with addiction in the past should make their doctors aware of their vulnerability, which alerts their doctor to minimize the use of addictive medications,” Indra Cidambi, MD, an addiction medicine expert and founder and medical director of the Center for Network Therapy in New Jersey, tells Yahoo Beauty. “Doctors should also refer such patients to an addiction specialist soon after the acute phase of the use of addictive medication is over so that such individuals can be evaluated and weaned off of such medications safely.”

It’s also important to note that one of the hashtags Lynn used in her post was #eatingdisorderrecovery. Cidambi explains that eating disorders are considered a psychiatric condition in which a cluster of neurons in the subcortical region of the brain are connected to binge behaviors, such as repeatedly eating too much food at once. As a result, this impaired brain activity makes “individuals with eating disorders susceptible to abusing other substances.”

“I have been treating individuals suffering from substance use disorders for over a decade, and it is common to find that women with addiction issues also suffer from eating disorders,” she adds.

Cidambi applauds Lynn for shedding light on her emotional journey.

“It is very beneficial when a movie, music, or sports star is comfortable discussing his or her struggle with addiction in an honest way,” she states. “Despite ample evidence that addiction is a disease — not a moral failing — there is still stigma around this disease. So when such public figures share their addiction stories, it helps to erase the stigma around addiction and helps other people with substance use disorders accept their addiction, engage in treatment, and embark on the road to recovery.”

“If you’re struggling with addiction…if you were like me and you are lost and ashamed….it’s ok,” wrote Lynn. “You’re ok right now. Tell someone you trust and let’s get you on the road to recovery. We are everywhere. I promise. We have you. I thought I was unlovable and I would never get my baby or husband back. I got so much more y’all, so much more.”